Celeste has announced details of her first headline UK tour. The ascending soul star, who released her debut album ‘Not Your Muse’ last week to high acclaim, will perform six headline shows in spring 2022, culminating at London’s Roundhouse on April 21st.

The tour news follows the announcement of Celeste’s first London shows since December 2019. The five dates, which will take place at Union Chapel in July this year, sold out in less than 4 minutes. Despite the ensuing pandemic putting paid to all touring and festival plans, including a sold-out show at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire and a tour with Michael Kiwanuka, Celeste continued her remarkable rise throughout 2020.

The singer songwriter achieved the double win of BBC Sound of 2020 and the BRITS Rising Star award…. Celeste’s spell-binding performance of ‘Strange’ at The BRITS in February placed her firmly in the global spotlight, winning her a legion of new fans blown away by its raw intimacy.

She released a string of captivating songs - the sentiments of which resonate in these uncertain times - including ‘Hear My Voice’ which was co-written with Golden Globe-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton and is the focus track of the Netflix film The Trial of the Chicago 7, written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Aaron Sorkin. ‘Hear My Voice’ is tipped as an Oscars contender for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards this year.

‘A Little Love’, which was written and recorded for the John Lewis and Waitrose Christmas advertising campaign, has been widely praised as a Christmas classic in the making and marks the first time an artist has been commissioned to write and perform an original song for the ad, marking another milestone.

Following this, Celeste closed out the year with the live debut of her uplifting new single ‘Love Is Back’ on Jools’ Annual Hootenanny. With the release of her phenomenal debut album ‘Not Your Muse’ and eagerly awaited live shows back on the map, this year looks set to belong to Celeste too.

The pioneering Hollywood actress Cicely Tyson – a former fashion model who was known for portraying strong African-American characters – had a career that spanned seven decades.

She won two Emmys for her performance in the 1974 civil rights-era film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman an also became the first Black woman to take on a main role in the TV drama East Side/West Side in the 1960s. She was also noted for her significant contributions to the cause of African-American actresses.

Born in New York, after her parents moved there from Nevis in the Caribbean, she turned down stereotypical roles for Black women, agreeing only to play characters that were strong, positive and realistic. She was also lauded for her role, in the award-winning 1977 origiinal mini-movie TV series Roots, as Binta, the mother of Kunta Kinte who was sold into the slave trade after being abducted from his African village and moved to America. 

In 2016, former US President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He said that apart from her achievements as an actress, she also inspired many people - including me - to walk a little taller, speak a little more freely, and live a little bit more like God intended."

US broadcaster and actress Oprah Winfrey said: "She used her career to illuminate the humanity of Black people. The roles she played reflected her values; she never compromised." Singer Rihanna called Tyson "a true legend"

She was nominated for a best actress Oscar and Golden Globe in 1973 for Sounder, about a family of poor Black sharecroppers during the Great Depression in 1933 Louisiana.

"I had no idea I would touch anybody," she said in a recent interview.

Some of her star roles were in films including: Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, The Help and How to Get Away with Murder.

She died aged 96 - No cause of death was given.

The bestselling children’s author David Walliams, the award-winning Birmingham Stage Company and Coalition Agency have teamed up for a brand-new COVID-safe Car Park Party production of Billionaire Boy, coming to a site this Easter!
  
Billionaire Boy started life as a David Walliams novel for children in 2010, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books. In 2016 it was adapted into a BBC production and has since become a firm Christmas television favourite. It tells the story of Joe Spud, who is twelve years old and the richest boy in the country.

He has his own sports car, £100k a week pocket money and two crocodiles as pets. But what Joe doesn’t have is a friend. So he decides to leave his posh school and start at the local comprehensive. But things don't go as planned for Joe and life becomes a rollercoaster as he tries to find the one thing money can't buy.
 
David Walliams said: “I am delighted that families will have the opportunity to see some live theatre again. The show is hilarious and I hope spreads some happiness in these difficult times.”

Car Park Party was launched summer 2020 and quickly became the nation’s favourite family drive in with Horrible Histories ‘Barmy Britain’. It then helped to save Christmas with the hugely successful Car Park Panto, performing ‘Horrible Christmas’ to forty thousand family members in their cars across 16 wintery towns and cities. Whilst the UK continues its fight back against the pandemic, children continue to miss out on live arts and so Easter presents the perfect time to bring live theatre to families across the country.
  
Adapter and director of Billionaire Boy, Neal Foster, said: “It was wonderful to be part of a magical enterprise in 2020 bringing live theatre to families desperate for the joy and connection theatre provides, so we are delighted to be presenting our production of one of David Walliams’ most popular stories which began its national tour in 2019 and was abruptly halted by Covid-19. The show’s actors are thrilled with the opportunity to return to a new stage with a story that demonstrates the importance of friends and family at this critical time for the world.”

Performance times for Billionaire Boy are 2pm and 5pm.

British actors Riz Ahmed, Michaela Coel and Carey Mulligan were among the nominees for this year's Independent Spirit Awards. The awards honour the best in independent film; and often indicate who could win an Oscar.

Ahmed was nominated in the male lead category for his portrayal of a heavy metal drummer struggling with losing his hearing in Sound Of Metal. He is nominated in the same category as the late Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The drama, about a blues singer, is up against First Cow and Minari for the best feature gong, as well as Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Nomadland.

One of the awards that has already been decided on is Best Ensemble Cast in a new scripted TV series, which went to Coel and her co-stars in I May Destroy You. The drama series finds protagonist Arabella trying to piece her life back together after being sexually assaulted on a night out.

Mulligan was recognised for her role as Cassie in the film Promising Young Woman - the directorial debut by star of The Crown and best director/best screenplay nominee Emerald Fennell – which sees her character seeking to avenge her best friend's rape.

The nominees were announced in a video shared online on Tuesday evening; hosted by directors Olivia Wilde and Barry Jenkins, and actress Laverne Cox.

The Independent Spirit Awards ceremony usually takes place on the beach in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, on the eve of the Academy Awards. But this year, due to the Covid-19 disruption, they will take place on April 22 - the Thursday before the big Sunday night.

The show is also up for best new scripted series, in a field which includes Sir Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology series, chronicling the lives of West Indian immigrants in London from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Both Small Axe and I May Destroy You could go on to be recognised at the Golden Globe nominations next week, which cover both film and TV.

The Independent Spirit Awards ceremony usually takes place on the beach in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, on the eve of the Academy Awards.

But this year, due to the disruption caused by Covid-19, they will take place on 22 April - the Thursday before the big Sunday night.

There is often some overlap between the winners at the Independent Spirit Awards and the winners at the Academy Awards.

For example, Renée Zellweger was named best actress at both ceremonies for her portrayal of Judy Garland last year.

In 2018, the two ceremonies agreed on three of the four acting category winners - Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney and Frances McDormand.

However, that is not always the case.

Because the Oscars consider all films, and not just those made independently, many movies which do well at the Independent Spirit Awards may not necessarily break through to the the more crowded Academy field.

Last year's main Spirit winners The Farewell, Uncut Gems and Booksmart were all snubbed at the Oscars.

The Academy has said it is exploring how to hold an in-person ceremony, two months later than normal.

Director Steven Soderbergh has been asked to "re-envision" this year's event in the wake of the pandemic.

York’s alt-rock songsmiths, Bull have today announced their debut album ‘Discover Effortless Living’ which will be released by EMI Records, in conjunction with Young Thugs. To celebrate, the band have today released ‘Eugene’, a mini-symphony of self-flagellation which trips through the various stages of feeling down on yourself (lethargy, frustration, anger etc) using tempo changes to paint an audio picture. It manages to be both melancholy and spritely at the same time, another example of the band’s idiosyncratic song writing.   

“I wrote the song Eugene when I was feeling dissatisfied with what I was doing” Tom (guitar/vocals) explains. “It's kind of a self-hate song, you know when people talk about self-love? It's not that. I'm slating myself; it moves through the key changes and different moods, and ends in a way that mocks the sadness, another form of self-deprecation!"

The video for the track is again a collaboration with artist friends of the band that reflects the different moods of the song. Dan and Kai from the band kick things off with some DIY Claymation before handing over to artists Jack Iredale, Rory Welbrock, Roxy Linklater and Holly Beer who each tackled a different animation style.

The band’s debut album, ‘Discover Effortless Living’ is a cornucopia of alt rocks sounds, the band having refined their song writing style into 13 indie bangers. The album includes previous singles such as ‘Disco Living’ (actually an abbreviation of the album title) ‘Green’, ‘Bonzo Please’ and ‘Love Goo’.

“Its songs written and rocked on between the years 2012 and 2020” Tom elaborates. “The title is taken from the opening lyric to the final track 'Disco Living'. We wanted to use a lyric from the album and felt like this was a good one. I first saw the words in London written on the side of a mansion being built and thought it was funny, it also ties in with ideas around class, new beginnings, a golden era of prosperity, and hoping to have life 'in the bag'.”

At radio the band are already being championed by the likes of Chris Hawkins and Steve Lamacq at 6Music, Huw Stephens at BBC Introducing Clara Amfo, as well as being acclaimed by fellow musicians like Elton John on his Beats 1 show and Declan McKenna.

Formed in 2011 by vocalist and songwriter Tom Beer and guitarist Dan Lucas, Bull’s mission is simply to make the music they wanted to listen to, inspired by their 90’s heroes such Pavement, Yo La Tengo and the Pixies. The rest of the band came together through a mix of friendships and happenstance. Drummer Tom Gabbatiss joined after he and Tom jammed together in bars while they were back-packing round Thailand, and Kai West had previously used to jump up on stage with the band and “Bez” (verb meaning to dance badly while intoxicated) before they eventually let him play bass.

They’ve played support shows for the likes of Squid, The Orielles, Pip Blom and even one of their long-time heroes in the form of Spiral Stairs (AKA Scott Kannberg of Pavement), and their constant gigging has seen them build up a dedicated local following. Not to be restricted to God’s own county, the band have plied their wares in mainland Europe, playing a series of unforgettable shows in Germany and the Netherlands.

The band hope that 2021 will see them returning to the stage alongside the release of their debut album.

Album release date – March 26.

I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here finalist and popular Radio 1 DJ Jordan North has teamed up with McDonald’s to show his fans how he has been spending his lockdown days since the castle.

He posted a hilarious video on his Instagram, known for his love of food hot off the press from his ‘Date Night’, North is seen preparing for his perfect night in with a face mask, slippers and is seen settling down to watch his beloved football team Burnley FC at his ‘Happy Place’ Turf Moor with the new McDonald’s Katsu Curry Chicken McNuggets.

This is the second video from Jordan showcasing how he has been filling the lonely nights during lockdown, two weeks ago he posted on his Instagram showing himself nervously preparing for a dinner date… Only to find out his date is McDonald’s new Katsu Curry Chicken McNuggets.

Taking social media by storm, both videos combined have already received close to half a million (460k) views and over 750 comments with a range of hilarious replies underneath.